Orchestral Manoeuvres

I must have been just 11 years old, maybe 10... I had been gifted money from my Grandma for Christmas, and there I was clutching a fiver, perusing the tapes and LPs in Debenhams department store in Chelmsford... I had a proper ghetto blaster at the time and access to Dad's record player so I went for the tape option, a copy of Orchestral Manoueuvres in the Dark's new album "Architecture & Morality". It was the first album I ever bought, ever owned...

And that very same Compact Cassette may be here somewhere, I don't know where, but I bought the CD version from a used record shop a few years back and now relive my childhood in the car, at my workstations... the opening strains of clicks and whirs and the mesmerising riff of "New Stone Age", the heart-plucking tones of "She's Leaving" and the unforgettable 1980s hits "Joan of Arc", "Joan of Arc (Maid of Orleans)" and "Souvenir"...

Photo © 2007 - Guildford Ghost

...so nigh on 27 years later when my friend said "OMD are playing in Southampton" I leapt at the opportunity to see my childhood heroes.

We got a parking spot outside Southampton Guildhall, which was both fluky and trés cool, queued for a bit and got right near the front of the stage. Lovers Electric came on first, a cute boy/girl combo who played acoustic guitar and Casiotone (Yes, it had bossanova ;) ) and I thought Becky would have loved this.

The lights dimmed, the huge back display lit up, and the opening chimes of "Architecture & Morality" punctuated the deep choral samples... atmospheric images in black & white floated across the back of the stage... 4 minutes of audio/visual bliss... then into the epic "Sealand", the screen awash with more artful video...

OMD then performed every track from the whole "Architecture & Morality" LP and followed on with all of their following 12 chart singles, including "Tessla Girls", "Enola Gay", "Electricity", "Talking Loud & Clear" and my friend's absolute favourite "Locomotion"

Now I was never a big fan past the first four albums (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Organisation, Architecture & Morality, Dazzle Ships) with the exception of Crush, but it was truly awesome to see & hear my childhood synth heroes and a bonus to meet them afterwards. Andy McClusky and Paul Humphries took the time to stop & chat and write signatures afterwards, they were absolute gentlemen :)

Now if they'd only played "Stanlow" and my own old favourite "Telegraph" then it would have been near perfect, just needed my girlfriend with us that night :)

Fighting Fire with Fire.

Know This...

If your inability to control your sphincter muscles in the same office as me results in my sharing of your noxious odours, and air fresheners, the use of fans (even on cold days), plus various comments about needing fresh air etc. result in no preventative action on your half, then I will exercise my right to eat highly aromatic (aka stinky) curries in the same small workspace.

And if you don't like the smell from my vicinity then think yourself lucky - at least it didn't emanate from my anus.

Ah-fucking-soles.

Sermon over, now it's back to my chicken tikka and lettuce sandwich.

P.S. Is it me or is there an echo around here?

Patience

Well I didn't feel like blogging nor making statements of trivial frivolities on here in the wake of Becky's brother's untimely death, but I think enough time elapsed in tribute and deepest respect to Stefan James, a lovely bloke who is still sorely missed. A big thank you to all who left their comments here and with my Becky, who misses her brother dearly.

I returned to England leaving Becky to tie-up all the loose ends, look after her family etc. Big respect to Ergo who put me up in Brooklyn for the Cinqo de Mayo night before I returned to England, although I missed my cab the next morning but that's another story...

So I get back to Olde Englande and find out that my uncle cannot have his surgery to remove lesions from his liver, thereby demanding more rounds of chemotherapy, my stepmother has a cancerous tumour removed and has to undergo radio therapy, my step-grandfather, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, passes away (RIP Adam Martin) and my own father is rushed to hospital after hemorrhaging and spitting blood - needing a blood transfusion and a new surgical procedure to ensure he too avoids an early demise.

Nice.

So there you have it folks, all fun and games. And did I tell you that I'm all on my own and missing my Becky like mad? She'll be back soon but it's been FAR too long and I want her home soon now.

So that was the good news, what of the bad?

Well, I saw Duke Special at the local West End Centre in Aldershot, watched Mick Jones and Tony James in their band Carbon/Silicon (and shook Mick Jones' hand at the end of the gig), I sold the flying brick, went on a Jack the Ripper tour hosted by a top friend of mine, bought a new guitar to complement my bass, have been jamming with my bud SE, and I've been traveling the country for spare & performance parts for our fleet of cars... well OK, the Mini & the Subaru ;)

So now I'm just waiting for my Becky to get back before she misses the English summertime...